TERRE HAUTE —
For the first time since the 2002-03 season, West Vigo defeated Terre Haute North in high school wrestling Wednesday night.
Securing the 36-31 triumph for the Vikings in the final match was sophomore 145-pounder Zac Otte, who pinned North’s Sean Elia 30 seconds into the third period inside the Patriots’ auxiliary gym.
“I was real nervous,” Otte admitted to the Tribune-Star afterward. “It was the last match and, if I didn’t do well, the team could have lost.”
More accurately, the Vikings would have lost because North led 31-30 going into that match. But Otte scored the pin with a single-leg takedown, enabling the Vikings to post their sixth victory of the season.
“It’s one of my favorite moves,” mentioned Otte, who improved his season record to 7-2. “I think it caught him by surprise.”
One factor affecting the team score was North forfeiting six weight classes (four that went to West Vigo wrestlers as victories and two that went as double forfeits).
West Vigo coach Scott Rohrbach has been in those shoes in past years when injuries and low numbers limited his roster flexibility, so he could empathize with North’s situation.
On the other hand, he said the Vikings might have won some of those classes, even if North had brought more healthy bodies.
“Where they forfeited to us at 182, 195 and 220, that’s three of our better kids [Sam McClain, Dakota Short and Tyler Bell],” Rohrbach pointed out. “We might have got those wins anyway.”
Regarding his athletes who did have matches Wednesday, the Vikings’ coach thought they wrestled well for the most part. He singled out freshman Kyman Elkins (138) for winning the next-to-last match by pin in 1:11, which set the stage for Otte’s heroics.
“Kyman Elkins is a back-up 138-pounder,” Rohrbach explained. “He’s not really even varsity. He was thrown into the mix tonight because we moved Zac Otte up to 145 just to see what we could make happen.”
Rohrbach also offered words of praise for Otte, who led his match 4-1 heading into the third period.
“He’s a coach’s kid [son of West Vigo wrestling assistant Brian Otte],” Rohrbach noted. “He’s under a lot of pressure. He has to live with his dad, who’s a very good friend of mine. Zac goes to practice and listens to dad and he goes home and listens to dad.
“Zac did a heckuva job tonight. That was a lot of pressure on a 15-year-old kid and he rose to the occasion.”
From the North perspective, coach Mark Frisz previously indicated that the 106 and 182 classes would be forfeits for the remainder of the season.
As for 195, 220, 113 and 120, there is hope for the future when the Patriots regain the services of injured Zach Schmidt, Ethan Edington, Gavin John and J.J. Low.
“They’re working their way back,” Frisz said. “As soon as they’re healthy and we get clearance, they’ll be back in the linup.”
Of the eight matches that actually took place Wednesday, North won six — Tyler Gilmore at 152, Trey Grim at 160, Ryan Moshak at 170, Andrew Londo at 285, Eric Elia at 126 and Austin Bishop at 132.
Trailing Casey Noblitt 5-3 in the third period, Grim made an impressive comeback by pinning his foe with 39.6 seconds remaining.
“I thought his match and the 132 match with Austin Bishop [a 7-6 victor over Sam Bowden] were gutsy performances against good opponents,” Frisz assessed. “They hung in there and just didn’t quit.”
West Vigo 36, Terre Haute North 31
152 — Tyler Gilmore (THN) pin. Kevin Stewart 4:40.
160 — Trey Grim (THN) pin. Casey Noblitt 5:21.
170 — Ryan Moshak (THN) dec. Jack Belleu 10-2.
182 — Sam McClain (WV) won by forfeit.
195 — Dakota Short (WV) won by forfeit.
220 — Tyler Bell (WV) won by forfeit.
285 — Andrew Londo (THN) pin. Jacob Riley 1:56.
106 — Double forfeit.
113 — Double forfeit.
120 — Gage Lynch (WV) won by forfeit.
126 — Eric Elia (THN) pin. Doug Wilkins 4:30.
132 — Austin Bishop (THN) dec. Sam Bowden 7-6.
138 — Kyman Elkins (WV) pin. Caleb Ingle 1:11.
145 — Zac Otte (WV) pin. Sean Elia 4:30.
JV — West Vigo won both matches.
Next — North (3-4) will compete in the Gregory S. Stultz Memorial Tourney on Saturday at Northview. West Vigo (6-3) will be host to Terre Haute South on Tuesday.
High School
Vikings topple North for 1st time in decade
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Goatee, Bertoli ran away with Spring Athlete of the Year
When honoring athletes after a season of excellence, the phrase “what might have been” doesn’t usually come up.
But in the case of Terre Haute South’s Jackson Bertoli and Terre Haute North’s TaPring Goatee – the Tribune-Star’s Athletes of the Year for spring sports – there’s an air of unfinished business despite obvious recent successes.
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Post 346 opens tournament with two victories
Preston Tofaute got on base enough to score three runs, Cody Thornton smashed a two-run triple in the first inning and pitcher Pete Lannoo scattered four hits over a seven-inning complete game.
All of that helped Wayne Newton Post 346 down Lafayette Post 11 by a 7-2 score in the opener of the Terre Haute Inviatational tournament for American Legion baseball Thursday afternoon at Terre Haute North High School. -
North boys move up to 13th in golf state finals
Early Wednesday morning, Terre Haute North senior Ryan Baker and coach Abe Nasser headed out to the Legends of Indiana Golf Course for a range session.
Baker wasn’t happy with the 85 he shot in Tuesday’s first round of the IHSAA boys golf state finals.
“He was frustrated,” Nasser said.
Problem solved. Baker bounced back with a 2-over 74 Wednesday, helping the Patriots improve their team score by seven strokes.
The Patriots shot 304 as a team Wednesday, giving them a two-day score of 615, good for 13th place in the 15-team field. -
Big hill to climb for North golf
Terre Haute North boys golf is 21 strokes behind leaders at IHSAA boys golf tourney.
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Top of her game
There are a lot of surprising facts about blossoming volleyball prodigy Caitlyn Newton, including that shape-shifting thing she can apparently do, but maybe one of them stands out the most. She may only be scratching the surface.
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Camp, Howe win, then lose in state tennis tourney
Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe of Terre Haute South won their first match of high school tennis Friday at the state individual doubles finals, then won the first set against a powerful Park Tudor team before falling in three sets.
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Terre Haute North heading back to state finals in boys golf
Terre Haute North is going back to the state finals in boys high school golf for the first time in more than 10 years. The Patriots qualified for a trip to The Legends Course next week by tying for third in the Washington Regional at Country Oaks Golf Club and advancing with the better fifth score.
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North, South, Sullivan to compete at golf regional
Boys high school golf teams from the Wabash Valley will compete in the Washington Regional on Thursday, seeking a spot in the state finals to be played next week.
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Terre Haute North falls 6-1 to Brownsburg in opening game of Class 4A Regional
Terre Haute North coach Shawn Turner told the Patriots to raise their heads. He wanted to see their eyes at the close of their 24-7 high school baseball season.
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Terre Haute North girls shine on dreary day at track state finals
Led by a record setting 3,200-meter relay team and Keirra Porter’s long jump, Terre Haute North turned in its best finish ever in the 40th annual IHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington.
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Valley teams will have to wait until Monday for baseball regionals
Rain and the threat of more rain caused postponements of high school baseball regionals involving Terre Haute North, West Vigo and Shakamak on Saturday.
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Rockville's season ends at Lafayette Central Catholic
Lafayette Central Catholic ended Rockville’s tourney run in high school baseball Saturday, defeating the Rox 8-0 in the first game of the LCC Class A Regional.
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IHSAA boys state track finals: Standing alone
It hadn’t been a particularly good day for Wabash Valley track and field Friday, and it wasn’t looking like a good one for Jackson Bertoli either.
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Terre Haute North, West Vigo return to baseball regionals
Terre Haute North’s baseball team hasn’t participated in an IHSAA regional since 2006. West Vigo’s wait hasn’t been as long, but it was 2010 when the Vikings last advanced from a sectional.
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Patriots girls take aim at state track title
Terre Haute North’s girls have several potential state champions today at Indiana University.
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South, North track athletes looking for big performances at state finals
Terre Haute South’s distance trio of Jackson Bertoli, Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler appear to be the favorites to crack all-state status among Wabash Valley competitors today in the IHSAA boys track and field state finals at Indiana University.
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Internet site keeps area prep teams on airwaves
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South Vermillion softball can't overcome errors, Tri-West
Uncharacteristic errors led to eight unearned runs and hard-luck hitting made that impossible to overcome for South Vermillion, which fell 8-0 to Tri-West in Class 3A regional play.
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Clay City softball comes up short against Lutheran
Clay City closed its high school softball season Tuesday night with the best record ever for the program at 21-9.
The Eels wanted to add another win, the school’s first regional title, but they came up short.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Rockville wins baseball sectional
Rockville won its own Class A sectional in high school baseball Tuesday, defeating Covington 10-4 in the rain-delayed championship game.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional:The wait is over
Three minutes into an interview with various media members, Terre Haute North baseball coach Shawn Turner couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head from behind by his giddy players. The soaking-wet Turner could shake it off with a smile, however, because his Patriots had just won the IHSAA Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional championship with a 13-3 six-inning triumph over Plainfield on Monday evening.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional: TH North, Plainfield win squeakers
The high school baseball teams of Terre Haute North and Plainfield proved Monday that what a batter does early in the game is not necessarily indicative of what he will do in the late innings.
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Class 2A Linton Sectional: Eastern rains on Sullivan parade
Mother Nature put Sullivan’s quest for a high school baseball sectional championship on hold Monday night at Linton-Stockton High School. Sullivan (14-15) and Eastern Greene (16-7) will resume play in the Class 2A Sectional 47 championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linton’s Roy Herndon Field.
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Opening Day: Terre Haute Rex host Quincy
In his first season at the helm, first-year Terre Haute Rex manager Ronnie Prettyman is going to be surrounded by men he knows and trusts.
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Class A Shakamak Sectional: Stout pitching leads Union, Shakamak to final
Trey Bedwell and Patrick Green made sure their respective high school baseball teams would meet for the championship of the Class A Shakamak Sectional by pitching shutouts in semifinal contests Monday afternoon.
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Class A Rockville Sectional: Covington, Rockville title game postponed
Rockville and Covington won semifinal high school baseball games Monday to advance to the championship game of the Rockville Class A Sectional. Due to rain, the championship game was postponed. A decision was expected this morning whether the game will be played today or Wednesday.
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South Vermillion, Linton, Clay City look to stay alive in softball
There might have been as many reasons to think they wouldn’t be winning sectionals this spring as evidence to show they would, but high school softball teams from South Vermillion, Linton and Clay City will be playing one-game regionals Tuesday with the chance to keep defying the odds.
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West Vigo back on top of Class 3A baseball sectional
West Vigo won its sectional with a 6-4 victory over South Vermillion on a rainy night at Dick Ballinger Field.
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South runs into ‘buzzsaw’ at girls tennis semistate
Postmatch interviews don’t often begin with a coach and a reporter ready to blurt out the same word, but that was the case for Bill Blankenbaker and his interviewer Saturday morning after the Center Grove Semistate for girls high school tennis.
Unfortunately for Blankenbaker’s Terre Haute South team, that word was “buzzsaw.”
Greenwood’s Kawamoto twins made quick work of the top of the Braves’ singles lineup, so despite stellar efforts by both South doubles teams the Woodmen’s 3-2 victory didn’t seem all that close.
Greenwood moves on to Fishers, where it plays Floyd Central or Jasper on Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Also playing Friday, but at Park Tudor, will be South’s Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe, who reached the individual doubles finals for the second straight season by virtue of their 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greenwood team of Taylor Hudnall and Brittany Toney.
“It’s really exciting,” said Howe of the prospect of a second straight finals trip, “but I wish our team could’ve gone with us.”
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